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  Brownfields  2005
  Grant  Fact  Sheet
       Middletown,  OH
EPA Brownfields Program

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders in economic development
to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up,
and sustainably reuse brownfields. Abrownfield site is
real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse
of which may be complicated by the presence or
potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant,
or contaminant. On January 11, 2002, President George
W. Bush signed into law the Small Business Liability
Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under the
Brownfields Law, EPA provides financial assistance to
eligible applicants through four competitive grant
programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund
grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants. Addi-
tionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal
response programs through a separate mechanism.

Community Description

The City of Middletown was selected to receive two
brownfields assessment grants. Middletown (population
51,605) is located in southwest Ohio between the Cities
of Dayton and Cincinnati. Served by five major rail lines
and a canal to move raw materials, Middletown was a
natural location for industry. For more than a century, the
city was dominated by the steel and paper industries.
Technological advances that enabled the use of fewer
employees and foreign imports left Middletown with
many abandoned and underutilized facilities, disrupting
the community. Industries that employed 50 percent of
the local workforce 50 years ago employ less than 30
percent today. A recent market study of the city indi-
cates that as many as 3,000 manufacturing jobs could be
lost in the next few years.  The declining economy has
  Assessment Grants
   $200,000 for hazardous substances
   $200,000 for petroleum
   EPA has selected the City of Middletown for two
   brownfields assessment grants. Hazardous
   substances grant funds will be used to perform
   ten to 15 Phase I and a select number of Phase II
   environmental site assessments, design
   remediation plans, and conduct community
   outreach activities at sites throughout the city.
   Petroleum funds will be used to conduct the same
   tasks at sites with potential petroleum contamina-
   tion. Middletown has identified 247 acres of
   brownfields.
   Contacts
  For further information, including specific grant
  contacts, additional grant information, brownfields
  news and events, and publications and links, visit
  the EPA Brownfields web site at: www.epa.gov/
  brownfields.

  EPA Region 5 Brownfields Team
  312-886-7576
  http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields/

  Grant Recipient: City of Middletown, OH
  513-425-1860

  The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
  yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
  in this fact sheet are subject to change.
left Middletown with growing unemployment and
poverty. Middletown has identified 247 acres of
brownfields. The brownfields are located primarily in the
low-income neighborhoods around the city. They not
only pose a potential health threat to the surrounding
communities, but also threaten the quality of the city's
water supply. Middletown is situated over the largest
natural aquifer in the United States. Assessment of the
abandoned and underutilized facilities represents the first
step toward future development opportunities for this
fully built-out area.
                                                  Solid Waste and
                                                  Emergency Response
                                                  (5105T)
                         EPA560-F-05-196
                         May 2005
                         www.epa.gov/brownfields

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